Tag Archives: college

Joke – University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California

Age: 53
Occupation: Real Estate Investor
Residence: Laguna Hills, CA
Performance Date: January 2007
Primary Language: English

A guy walks into a bar, sits down and has a couple of drinks.  Trying to start up conversation, he turns to the guy a few seats away sitting with his friends and says,

“Hey, you want to hear a UCLA joke?”

The man replies, “You know, I played football at UCLA as wide receiver and I don’t really wanna hear that.”

So the first man says, “Well what about your friends?”

The second man says, “Well, this guy played Linebacker at UCLA, he’s about 6’2” 230 pounds. I don’t think he wants to hear it.  And that guy played Defensive Tackle at UCLA, he’s 6’4” 280 pounds and he doesn’t want to hear it… so, do you still want to tell the joke?”

The first man says, “Nah, no thanks. I don’t want to explain it three times.”

Barry informed me that he first learned this joke while he was a student at USC in the 70s.  The background for the joke is that UCLA and USC have a heated rivalry in sports and academics, as both schools are located in the greater Los Angeles area and are very similar.  Barry explained that the joke just symbolized the intense competition between the Trojans of USC and the Bruins of UCLA.

While this joke may not represent an entire country or region’s ideas, it is still considered folklore as the folk in this case are USC students, alums, faculty, and fans in general.  Sports teams are usually followed by a large group of people who bleed their team’s colors and share a large hatred for their team’s rivals.  This same hatred between two groups is seen across many different groups and helps bind them together to create their own folklore.  Some other examples may be rival countries, states, gangs, religious groups, and many other groups as well.

Annotation:  This joke was found at:

http://lexicon.typepad.com/lexicon/usc_football/index.html

Joke – University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California

Age: 53
Occupation: Real Estate Investor
Residence: Laguna Hills, CA
Performance Date: February 2007
Primary Language: English

“How come the Bruins haven’t dumped ice on their coach this century?

Because the guy who knew the recipe graduated.”

Barry informed me that he first learned this joke while he was a student in high school.  His father and mother are University of Southern California alums so they raised Barry to be a USC football fan.  The background for the joke is that UCLA and USC have a heated rivalry in sports and academics, as both schools are located in the greater Los Angeles area and are very similar.  Also, the ice being alluded to in this joke represents the ritual that football players will douse their coach with the ice and water that is found in their coolers.  Barry explained that the joke just symbolized the intense competition between the Trojans of USC and the Bruins of UCLA.

While this joke may not represent an entire country or region’s ideas, it is still considered folklore as the folk in this case are USC students, alums, faculty, and fans in general.  Sports teams are usually followed by a large group of people who bleed their team’s colors and share a large hatred for their team’s rivals.  This same hatred between two groups is seen across many different groups and helps bind them together to create their own folklore.  Some other examples may be rival countries, states, gangs, religious groups, and many other groups as well.

Joke – University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California

Age: 53
Occupation: Real Estate Investor
Residence: Laguna Hills, CA
Performance Date: March 2007
Primary Language: English

Two fraternity brothers decide to go sailing one afternoon and become lost. After twenty hours with nothing to eat or drink, one of them spots a lamp floating by. He picks it up and a genie pops out. The genie notices the poor condition of the brothers and grants them one wish between the two of them.
After a lot of arguing over who gets the wish, one of them blurts out, “I wish the ocean was made of beer.”
Magically, the ocean turns to beer.
Infuriated, the other guy yells, “You idiot! Now we have to piss in the boat!”

Barry said he learned this joke when he was in a fraternity at the University of Southern California.  He was a member of Kappa Alpha Order.  He told me that one of his fellow fraternity brothers taught him this joke circa age twenty one.  Barry explained that the background for the joke is that fraternity members are notorious for drinking large amounts of alcohol, specifically beer, at a time.  The joke pokes fun at the fraternity life, suggesting that all fraternity members hold their alcohol (beer in this case) in higher regard than hygiene and sanitation.  The fraternity brothers would rather urinate in their boat where they have to live for days on end than in the beer they are floating in.

I believe the meaning of this Barry gave to me is completely correct.  Fraternities are known for binge drinking and this joke capitalizes on that idea.  Also, some might argue that the mild profanity used in this joke (“piss”) could be used to show fraternity members’ tendencies to use profanity at will.

Song

Age: 22
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: March 15, 2007
Primary Language: English

Kappa Alpha Theta Sisterhood Song

We are the best

We are the K A T

We make up

The best sorority

You can try

But you can’t match the fun

Cuz Kappa Alpha Theta’s always number one!

We got swing

No one else is better

And we’re always hot no matter what the weather

We the top the list

The cream of the crop

Kappa Alpha Theta is the top!

She’s a Kappa Alpha Theta

Cute little lass

She’s a Kappa Alpha Theta

Notice her class

She’s a Kappa Alpha Theta

Doin’ it right

She’s a Kappa Alpha Theta

Wearin’ her kite, yeah!

Kristin Boyert pledged the Kappa Alpha Theta sorority at Southern Methodist University in Fall 2003 and transferred to the University of Southern California two years later.  She is now an active member of Theta at USC and has focused a lot of effort on philanthropies and rush. The Theta sisterhood song is recited at special events such as bid night in order to generate excitement. This song, however, was much more prominent at Southern Methodist and is not sang very often at USC.

Unlike the songs at rush that are humbly designed to impress girls, this song is a declaration of superiority, aimed at making the new initiates excited about their new status within the sorority. It describes the Thetas as well-balanced girls (class, attractive, fun) who are the envy of the other sororities and coveted by the men. While it is understandable that sororities have tremendous pride and tradition, songs like this help to explain the resentment that often develops between members of different sororities. Although girls may feel like their association to the group makes them superior to others, the reality is that any two girls could have easily ended up in the same sorority during rush. As a USC Greek, I have directly seen this out-group bias (and have sometimes been guilty of it myself), and while I have tremendous faith in the Greek system, this song certainly indicates the resentment potentially fostered amongst the row.

Drinking Game

Age: 22
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: April 15, 2007
Primary Language: English

King’s Cup

The rules:

  • All the participants sit around a standard table, and at the center is a cup of beer surrounded by a deck of cards.
  • The players take turns picking cards, and each card (2-A) represents a unique action that the player must take if picked
  • For example, a 2 could represent “Make a rule,” which enables the player to make any rule that will be in effect the entire game (such as, “anyone who cusses has to drink”), a 7 could represent “everyone drinks,” and a J could represent “nickname,” in which a player if given a nickname that replaces his/her real name
  • Every time a K is picked, it is placed on top of the cup.  The person who selects the fourth K must chug the cup of beer

Mike Searles learned the game of King’s Cup early in his college years, as it is a relatively popular game amongst novice drinkers. He says it is best played in groups of four or more, but that he has sometimes played in groups as large as ten. He describes it as his favorite social drinking game, as the game’s versatility in rules and procedure enables a unique experience almost every time. Also, he says he has encountered substantial variation with this game, as people differ significantly in their setup of rules and cards. There really is no time limit on the game, as the cup can be refilled and the deck repeated.

“King’s cup” is a drinking game that is clearly designed for social purposes. As more rules and nicknames are added, the game gets increasingly complex and, generally, more fun. Likewise, as more rules are added, the participants get increasingly intoxicated, thus making it nearly impossible to remember all the rules. The game seems like a very effective icebreaker, as it invites conversation amongst the closely confined group. While some drinking games are reliant on technique and strategy, there is basically no strategy involved in this game (and therefore no pressure). Thus, unlike the drinking games that foster competitiveness, “King’s Cup” fosters social interaction and is merely intended for everyone to enjoy themselves.